Wheaton North comes back to nip Bartlett

Through the first five innings, things didn't look overly promising for Wheaton North's baseball team during Saturday's Class 4A regional championship game at St. Charles East.

Trailing Bartlett 5-0, the top-seeded Falcons had managed just 5 base hits - all singles - against Hawks ace left-hander Kyle King and hadn't pushed a baserunner past second over the first 5 frames.

But the persistent Falcons (27-5) got back in the game with a 3-run sixth, highlighted by Jeff Schalk's 2-run double, tied it on Trey Martin's clutch 2-run single with one out in the seventh and eventually pulled out a 6-5 victory in eight innings on Aric Dama's RBI double.

Thanks to their late-inning heroics, the Falcons captured their second consecutive regional title and earned a trip to St. Charles North on Wednesday, where they'll face Conant in the sectional semifinals at 4 p.m.

"I thought we kept our composure and waited for our opportunities - and fortunately we got them," said Falcons coach Dan Schoessling. "We feel fortunate to beat them. They're a very good team."

A never-say-die attitude came in handy for the Falcons, who fell behind 1-0 early after allowing an unearned first-inning run without the benefit of a base hit.

"That's one of the good characteristics of our team - that we never get rattled," said Martin. "Even down 5-0 in the fifth, we were able to put something together. That just defines our team.

"We've come from behind a couple times but we haven't had one quite like this all year."

Bartlett (21-13) extended its lead to 2-0 in the third on back-to-back, two-out doubles from Mike Mancuso and Tucker Erickson before flexing its muscles during a 3-run fifth that featured 3 extra-base hits.

King sent Falcons starting pitcher Jack DeAno's first pitch of the inning over the right-field fence for a home run and a 3-0 lead.

Ryan Yore's one-out double was followed by an RBI double from Alex VanNess and George Tintera's run-scoring single that stretched the Hawks' lead to 5-0.

The Creighton-bound King, who missed several starts during the course of the regular season with a lower back injury, quieted the Falcons' attack for the first 5 1/3 innings before a high pitch count (116) forced Hawks coach Chris Pemberton to take him out after he fanned Martin with runners at first and second in the sixth.

"We extended him beyond," said Pemberton. "He really hasn't had the regular outings all season long but he wanted the ball. He came out and showed the kind of pitcher and kind of kid that he is."

King definitely made a believer out of Schoessling.

"He did a great job," said the Falcons coach. "If nothing else, we took good at-bats. We didn't do anything against him but we at least got his pitch count up a little bit."

Schalk greeted reliever Matt DiCianni with a 2-run double off the base of the right-field fence to make it 5-2 before Wade Cervenka's RBI single narrowed the deficit to 5-3.

"After striking out in each of his first 3 plate appearances, Martin's 2-run single helped force extra innings.

"I don't think I've ever been so frustrated in myself," the designated hitter said of his first 3 at-bats. "My coach told me I would get another shot and to keep my head up. It was nice to hit one hard after having such a terrible day at the plate."

While the Falcons were making their comeback, junior reliever Mike Coduto (3-0) kept the Hawks from padding their lead, tossing 4 scoreless innings of 1-hit ball.

"Mike was our MVP today," said Schoessling. "We don't do anything if he doesn't go out there and throw blanks."

"You've got to play every inning," Pemberton said. "You can't take a lead for granted. Obviously, our young kids have to learn from that. But I feel bad for our seniors, not being able to close the deal.

"We were successful. To get 21 wins overall, it's a successful season. We wanted to get more and we want to strive for more but today it just wasn't going to happen."